Instagram Data Shows Pro-Vaping Support Still Exceeds FDA Opposition
Anti-vaping messaging from the FDA appears unpopular. UC Berkeley CIRCLE researchers analyzed 245,894 Instagram posts before and after the #TheRealCost campaign and interviewed five vaping influencers and eight college-age users.
FDA's opposition to e-cigarettes is unpopular
For the current study, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's Center for the Study of Childhood Leukemia and the Environment (CIRCLE) analyzed 245,894 Instagram posts before and after the launch of the #TheRealCost campaign. Additionally, the research team interviewed five vaping influencers and eight college students who are social media users.
“.. We see that Instagram users' comments refute the FDA's claims that nicotine harms health and call for campaign advocacy.”
Study author Julia Vassey stated: “Public health officials in the U.S. have been calling smoking among young people an epidemic and have been trying to stop this epidemic by introducing the #TheRealCost anti-smoking campaign.” “However, the severe imbalance in the number of positions has led to vaping brands' marketing overwhelming the FDA's message.”
Vassey added that Instagram was chosen as the most popular marketing platform. She explained: “We focused on Instagram because many of the influential influencers we interviewed for this study view Instagram as their most important social media marketing platform.”
“Based on the results, the FDA's anti-smoking campaign is not very popular, and we see Instagram users' comments opposing the FDA's claims that nicotine harms health and labeling it as propaganda.”
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